


Ours 24/7

by NotThatIWillEverWriteIt



Series: Shigure - Autumn Rain [5]
Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Domestic, High School, Light Angst, Living Together, M/M, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29199294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotThatIWillEverWriteIt/pseuds/NotThatIWillEverWriteIt
Summary: “Shit,” Akihiko sprung up suddenly and stared down at Ugetsu’s startled, widened eyes, “I just realized I don’t have clean underwear for tomorrow.”AkiUgetsu trip to the 24/7 laundromat at 2AM. Takes place soon after Akihiko moved in with Ugetsu during the third high school year.
Relationships: Kaji Akihiko/Murata Ugetsu
Series: Shigure - Autumn Rain [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725043
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	Ours 24/7

**Author's Note:**

> If you should notice mentions of fluffy socks, Ugetsu stuck in a laundry cart, or gaming boyfriends, you are privy to the brilliant brain fruits of the Ugetsu to my Akihiko. This giddy midnight adventure is for her for sticking through life's responsibilities. 
> 
> Also, I know AkiUgetsu moved together in the "spring of their 3rd high school year", but it's winter in this fic. Let's all just decide to live with that. I never said geography was my strong suit. 
> 
> **Read and review!**

“Hey,” Akihiko said, emerging from the bathroom and snapping the bright lights off, “is it okay if I emptied the top shelf in the cabinet for my stuff? I’m sick of almost knocking my toothbrush into the sink every time.”

His gaze swept over Ugetsu sprawled on the bed on his stomach, engrossed in something. The mop of dark hair – barely dried up after the bath – looked inviting for tousles. A pair of black, fuzzy woolen socks with a sheep’s face on them dangled in the air as Ugetsu swung his legs lazily.

“I cleared up some space for the – hey, are you listening to me?”

The only reply Akihiko got was an impatient hum and dismissive wave of a hand. The knitted eyes of the sheep stared at him blankly from their nighttime Ferris wheel ride. The small black ears flopped in time with Ugetsu’s feet. Where on earth had he even found a pair of black sheep socks, Akihiko had no idea. But they have seemed to have found their way on Ugetsu’s feet on a nightly basis lately. 

The mattress dipped and shook as Akihiko crawled on the bed and flopped next to Ugetsu who paid him no mind. It was one of those nights when they had both drank too much coffee too late into the evening. At almost one in the morning, they were still too restless to settle down. Instead, they found all kinds of doings that just couldn’t seem to wait for the next day. Case in point, Akihiko had just finished sorting through the bottles and jars in the bathroom, wiping the small shelves, and arranging the items according to their purpose. (Mouth, armpits, hair, hands, and…intimate products.)

Akihiko was wondering if he should go through the kitchen cabinets as well when the electronic chiming next to him caught his attention. He peered at what Ugetsu was so intently cradling in his hands and frowned.

“Oi,” he said and reached for the item, “is that my phone?!”

Nimbly, Ugetsu dodged out of his reach, continuing to smash the flipped screen with his thumbs from an awkward angle.

“Be quiet, I’m almost there!”

“No, _I’m_ almost there. Stop sponging off my levels!”

Akihiko made another attempt to catch his phone, ending up laying half on top of the wiggling Ugetsu-sized lump. Ignoring protests in his usual infuriating manner, Ugetsu flicked the character into one last combination attack against a green villain. The final roundhouse kick was delivered spot on, and the ugly four-eyed alien let out a deflating growl and melted into a puddle of green goo. There was a short bright jingle, and the avatar – Akihiko’s avatar – on the screen raised his fist in the air in victory. A handful of sparkling stars spiraled around him.

Clicking his tongue annoyedly, Akihiko snatched the phone back. He scrolled through the most recent tasks in the settings.

“How many did you finish?!”

With a satisfied groan, Ugetsu stretched his limbs like a cat and rolled over. Almost as if conditioned, Akihiko’s eyes flickered to the slither of fair skin revealed when the hem of Ugetsu’s pajama shirt inched up.

“You know,” Ugetsu drawled, his eyes squinting with mischief, “after someone helps you out, shouldn’t you be thanking them instead of accusing them?”

Akihiko scoffed and logged out of the game. The logo of _Astro Boy_ flashed across the screen before returning his homescreen of a poorly drawn _Astro Boy_ panel.

“You were helping yourself,” he said and secured his phone out of Ugetsu’s reach. “You need to collect all the blue crystals before you can use them to get to the rocket. Stop skipping levels you can’t clear yourself by using my account.”

The tease in Ugetsu’s eyes deepened.

“Consider it as my privilege as your landlord.”

Akihiko’s eyes narrowed. He tossed his phone on the thick duvet with a thump and without saying a word, crawled towards Ugetsu. The chocolate brown eyes gleamed at him as Ugetsu yielded to be pushed on his back.

“You…,” Akihiko mumbled, reaching down to nuzzle Ugetsu’s neck, “you’ve been taking an awful lot of those privileges.”

There was a soft intake of breath next to his ear when Akihiko dragged his lips against the smooth skin peeking above the pajama collar. Traces of shampoo and steamy bath welcomed him. Small hands came to rest on his shoulders. Patches of warmth seeped from them through Akihiko’s shirt. One of the hands traced its way up to cradle the back of his head, fingers sinking into his hair and caressing him ever so slightly.

The hands felt inviting and affectionate. Oddly comforting.

Suddenly, an uninvited image of his mother smiling sadly at him flashed through Akihiko’s mind. Distant and fuzzy. Almost like a mirage – just real enough to fool the senses.

_You see, your father and I…_

Akihiko stiffened. His teeth clenched and fists tightened until his nails were digging into the softness of his palms. A tuff of hair tickled his cheek when Ugetsu craned against the pillow to try and get a look at him.

“Aki?”

A weight of alarmed hesitance had crept into his voice. 

“Shit,” Akihiko sprung up suddenly and stared down at Ugetsu’s startled, widened eyes, “I just realized I don’t have clean underwear for tomorrow.”

**~oOo~**

Gentle snowfall engulfed them as they walked side by side down the deserted streets. Giant quilt like snowflakes floated down from the night sky, blanketing the ground with untouched pillow-like piles. The temperature was nippy, and their breaths came out in fluffy clouds.

Ugetsu’s winter boots kicked out petulant puffs of snow at every step.

“I still don’t understand why I had to come, too,” he complained.

Akihiko shifted the handle of the heavy laundry bag swinging between them. Tellingly, Ugetsu was letting his side of the load drag on the ground, leaving a faint trace in the powdery snow.

“You had no clean clothes either,” Akihiko said. “If I’m going to be sorting through your socks at two in the morning, you sure as hell are coming, too.”

The laundry bag yanked at his hand when Ugetsu halted in mid-stride.

“My feet are tired, my hands are freezing. Can’t you just go commando for one day?”

Akihiko almost snorted at the pout that peeked between the Scotch muffler and beanie that had slid askew on Ugetsu’s head. Not being able to help a small lopsided smile, he let the laundry bag hit the ground and closed the distance between them. The big, dark eyes screwed shut when Akihiko dusted off the snow that had piled on top of the beanie and fixed the hat properly.

“I told you to wear your gloves.”

“I couldn’t find them.”

“No surprise the way you leave them lying around.”

Rolling his eyes, Akihiko picked up the bag and hoisted it on his own shoulder this time.

“Come on, we’re almost there.”

The closest 24/7 laundromat was about a mile from Ugetsu’s place – well, their place, Akihiko supposed. It was a small hole-in-the-wall, easy to miss if you weren’t familiar with the neighborhood. At first glance, it looked a bit shabby, but Akihiko had grown fond of it. The uncomfortable plastic chairs with suspicious stains on them, crickety laundry carts, and the one machine second to last that you had to perform voodoo on to get it to rinse properly had all become strangely charming and endearing to him.

Even now, at this godforsaken hour, the laundromat’s bright lights shone through the snowfall inviting and homely.

A bell let out a familiar chime when Akihiko yanked the front door open. Warmth greeted their cold, rosy cheeks as they entered and stamped the snow off their shoes. Wafts of distinctive laundry scents – sharp detergents, puffed and fluffed fabrics, the metallic flatness of the machines – tickled Akihiko’s nose. The deserted hall was filled only with bright fluorescent light.

“One for normal clothes, one for the uniforms,” Akihiko assigned, taking off his winter coat and swinging it on one of the chairs.

“Uniforms,” Ugetsu hurried to call his dips.

“Oi,” Akihiko grumbled, “why am I always the one stuck dealing with your dirty underwear?”

“Landlord pri-“

“You say landlord privileges one more time, and I swear to god…”

Ugetsu pushed the gaping mouth of one of the washing machines open and yanked the laundry bag’s strings loose. He cast a knowing smirk at Akihiko.

“I could always go commando around the house if you preferred that.”

A wave of heat smoldered at the bottom of Akihiko’s stomach at the mental image, but he refused to give his reaction away.

“Just load the damn thing.”

At last, the hall was filled with sloshing and hum of the washers. Akihiko slumped in one of the chairs next to where Ugetsu had made a small nest for himself. His boots were kicked into a pile under the chair, and he was leaning sideways against the backrest, huddled deep in his coat.

Promptly, a pair of black sheep socks were lifted on Akihiko’s lap. His hands came to rest on the slim legs.

“Cold?”

“Hmm.”

“It won’t take long. I picked the quick wash.”

Absently, Akihiko rubbed the legs gently. The tips of the soft socks – the mouths of sheep – wiggled in his lap.

“Where did you get these ugly things?”

A sharp heel of a foot kneaded Akihiko’s groin and made him jump a little. 

“I think the word you’re looking for is cute,” Ugetsu said. “I bought them a couple of years ago. The basement is always freezing in the winters.”

“So, these monstrosities will be a permanent feature for the time being?”

“With your ugly feet, I wouldn’t talk.”

“They do what they’re supposed to do, that’s enough.”

“If by that you mean look ugly, then they sure are.”

Without a warning, Akihiko pinched a tight hold of the feet in his lap and attacked the bottoms of the sheep socks mercilessly. Ugetsu jolted out of his half-slumber violently. Exclaiming, he lurched forward to try and free himself from the tickling. When he almost fell to the floor in his desperate struggling, Akihiko loosened his grip and the feet were quickly pulled out of his reach.

His bangs disarrayed, Ugetsu glared at him. Akihiko was hit by an urge to tuck the messy tuffs behind Ugetsu’s ear. Maybe let his cool fingers brush against the sensitive skin and watch him squirm.

“Brute,” Ugetsu muttered, pouting, and burrowed himself into a tighter ball inside his coat.

“Brat.”

“Oaf.”

“Whiny brat,” Akihiko replied lazily.

“Unfashionable savage,” Ugetsu said with a snooty accent. 

“Snob.”

Ugetsu fell silent for a moment, until: “An insufferable cockwomble.”

Akihiko raised his eyebrows and looked at him.

“Impressive.”

“I read it in a book once.”

“That must have been some book.”

“Not bad,” Ugetsu said, pondering. “It was about cats, I think.”

“Do you know what it means? The cock-whatever?”

A giddy snort of a giggle bubbled from somewhere deep inside the rustling coat.

“No idea. But Mrs. Cradle – our foreign exchange English teacher in junior high – looked horrified when I asked how to pronounce it.”

Akihiko huffed a little laugh and leaned back in his chair. He let his gaze rest on the foamy blur of colors sloshing around in the machines, trying to remember if he took the whites out of the heaps of clothes he had shoved in the washer. 

“You’re good with cold, then?” Ugetsu asked, breaking the small lul.

Akihiko shrugged.

“I don’t really get cold that easily?”

A coat rustled, and the plastic chair creaked next to him.

“It’s your first winter in the basement,” Ugetsu said, a touch of distance in his voice. “It always gets cold in there. So, you better stock up on ugly socks.”

Akihiko chuckled.

“I’ll just borrow yours if I need them.”

Ugetsu’s smile was a warm tease.

“Like I would ever let your stinky feet anywhere near mine.”

This time the lull stretched out into a deeper silence between them. The almost languid sloshing of the machines started to sound like a lullaby to Akihiko. He shifted to find a more comfortable spot on the chair and closed his eyes on the bright lights. But as soon as he tried to settle down, thoughts that he preferred remained unsaid and nestled deep in his gut started to bubble up.

_You see, your father and I…_

His mother trying to offer him a small smile with the news that hadn’t really been news but had caught him by surprise, nevertheless. She hadn’t met his eyes. The middle distance she had cast her gaze upon, had been blessed with more pull than looking at him.

For a fleeting moment, he had hated her. A flash of bitterness and anger had flared up in his gut.

_Then what about me?_ he had wanted to ask but she had beat him to it.

_We haven’t been very happy together for a long time now. It’s better this way. You’re old enough to understand. Right, Aki-dear?_

In a split second, the anger had morphed into a sudden realization of heavy guilt.

For a long time?

For _how_ long? What had made them prolong this decision? Had it been him? Was this his fault? Had they been trapped in being unhappy for his sake?

The guilt had snuffed out the fire of anger, and he had just nodded at her. His gut had twisted at how she had finally looked at him, visibly relieved.

He had swallowed the needy demands, but they hadn’t left him. Instead, they had made a nest in that deep place behind his heart where all human emotions _yanked_ at you. Fear, affection, excitement, ire. He could feel his neediness throbbing in there. And he had caught himself taking it out on Ugetsu, even more so after moving in with him.

Pick me. Give me. Love _me_. 

What a pathetic –

Akihiko was startled back to the nightly laundromat when something heavy landed in his lap. He glanced down and found a pair of deep chocolate eyes peering up at him. 

“Hey,” Ugetsu said, adjusting his head on Akihiko’s thighs, “no sleeping on duty.”

“You’re one to talk, mister I’m cold and tired.”

Akihiko’s arm was pulled down and draped comfortably over Ugetsu’s chest.

“That’s why we make a perfect match,” Ugetsu said, sounding all too pleased with himself. “You keep me warm like a hot water bottle, and I will keep you company. As far as landlords go, you could do worse.”

Akihiko snorted.

“Lucky me, I guess.”

“Also, I’m cute.”

“Debatable.”

“That’s what people with ugly feet say.”

Akihiko tightened his hold.

“You don’t start watching your smart mouth and I won’t let you use my account anymore.”

Ugetsu grabbed his forearm to try and pull back from the sudden squeeze.

“So you keep saying,” he said, clearly not taking his threats seriously.

“I won’t help you pair up your socks.”

“Ahh, truly, you’re a cruel man, Akihiko.”

The small hands lingered warm and solid on his forearm, and the neediness in Akihiko’s gut tugged at its chain.

“Hey,” Ugetsu said, in a quiet voice.

“Hmm, what?”

Nimble fingers played with the sleeve of his shirt, smoothing the soft fabric and sharing familiar patches of warmth. They kept the unwanted stinging memories at bay.

“Nothing.”

Then, after a moment of silence: “About the mug…”

Sighing softly, Akihiko blinked at the ceiling. It had the same ugly green shade as the walls. The color reminded him of medicine.

“I told you already, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.“

“I’ll buy another one.”

Akihiko huffed humorlessly.

“It’s just a mug.”

“Hmm,” Ugetsu hummed and closed his eyes, pressing his face against Akihiko’s stomach, “I know. But still.”

He was about to tease that it’s not like he had meant the mugs as nuptial cups when the washing machines started beeping. They both flinched in unison. The programs had washed through, and it was time to load the dryers. Stiffing a yawn, Akihiko nudged Ugetsu to free his lap.

“Aight, I think we can dry them in one batch,” he said. “And I’ll take the uniforms this time.”

He pulled one of the squeaking carts to the beeping machines. A cloud of warm steam hit his face when he snapped the hatch open. Together they started to pile damp, warm clothes in the cart between them.

When Akihiko yanked out one of the uniform shirts, there was a quiet clatter on the tile floor at his feet. A small button had dropped from the folds of the fabric. Squinting, he held the shirt at an arm’s length and examined the row of buttons. And sure enough, there was a blank slot in the otherwise intact line.

“Do you have a sowing kit at your place?” he asked, bending to pick the button off the floor before he lost it.

Ugetsu’s head emerged from the guts of the machine, his hair up in messy tuffs. He had been reaching for a pair of socks trying to make their escape into the depth of the washer.

“As in…a needle and thread?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I like I do much sowing?”

“Can’t you just give a straight answer for once?” Akihiko said, not managing to stifle the annoyed edge very well.

Ugetsu glanced at the shirt in his hands.

“Why don’t you just buy a new shirt? Didn’t you say that one was getting too small, anyway?”

Tightening his lips at the small yank deep inside his chest, Akihiko tossed the piece of clothing on top of the growing pile in the cart and bent down to pick the last pair of pants. 

“It’s still a good shirt. Just leave it, I’ll look for a kit tomorrow.”

In his haste to hide, he was oblivious to the brown eyes that flickered quietly to glance at his back and the hands that picked up the shirt from the cart. A thumb smoothed over a neat line of writing on the inside of the white collar. _Kaji Akihiko_. It looked like someone else’s handwriting. A woman’s perhaps based on the softly curving characters.

“Yes,” Ugetsu said, settling the shirt back on top of the pile, “It’s still a good shirt.”

When the dryer was finally humming, the small hours had started to dip towards the earliest morning. The city was beginning to stir around them. A heavy truck roared somewhere down the street, and a couple of early workers made their way through the night of snowfall.

Their tiredness had also reached its peak and came out in overall silliness. Ugetsu wiggled himself in one of the rickety carts. He was sitting in the flimsy basket like an overgrown child, the sheep socks hanging in the air over the edge. On the pretense that it was bad if they fell asleep, he talked Akihiko into pushing him around in the empty laundromat. Deciding this was a perfect chance at revenge for the stolen game tasks, Akihiko spun the cart around faster and faster to extract as many scared exclaims out of Ugetsu as possible. 

By the time the dryer finished, they had almost crashed the cart three times and Akihiko was getting severely out of breath.

“Timeout,” he panted.

Ugetsu rolled his eyes and groped around for the wall of machines to turn himself around.

“Grandpa.”

“How about,” heavy cathing of breath, “you try pushing me around, and we’ll see who’s out of shape.”

“How is that even a fair comparison? You’re much heavier than me.”

Akihiko arched an eyebrow at Ugetsu in the cart.

“You’re not exactly a lightweight yourself, you know.”

“Are you calling me _fat_?”

Narrowing his eyes, Ugetsu tried to nudge the cart towards him to get Akihiko’s butt in the striking distance of his sheep socks. Easily, Akihiko caught his swinging foot.

“Your words, not mine,” he drawled. “Come on, get out. The laundry is done.”

A bit clumsily, Ugetsu grabbed the rims of the cart and tried to hoist himself up. His feet kicked in the air, desperate for leverage. His butt lifted a couple of inches, quivered airborne for a moment, before slumping back down.

Not quite believing his eyes, Akihiko watched the struggle. He was too giddy to even try to hide his shit-eating grin.

“You were saying about not being fat? Your center of gravity seems to be giving you trouble, though.”

“I’m…not…,” Ugetsu said between his reversed pushups, “fat!”

After a couple of embarrassingly failed attempts, he gave up. Defeated by the gravity and partly by his own tired fit of giggles, he reached for Akihiko.

“Help, I can’t get out of this thing!”

Pretending to have developed a sudden case of selective hearing, Akihiko turned to open the dryer. A waft of warm metallic smell puffed out.

“Hey, cockwomble, do you hear me?”

Small hands clung to the hem of Akihiko’s shirt, tugging at it until the rim of the trolley bumped against his thigh. Deciding that since a cart was so conveniently attached to his hip now, he might as well make use of it. In a couple of heaps, Ugetsu’s lap was buried under a pile of freshly dried clean clothes.

“I’ll give you a hand if you help me with the socks. Deal?”

Silently Ugetsu sank his hands into the pile and picked up a couple of socks, glaring at them like they were the sole root for all of his misery. Akihiko knew there were only a few other things in the world that Ugetsu loathed more than sorting through the small laundry.

“And pair them up properly, too, don’t just stuff two random ones together.”

“What does it matter?” Ugetsu nearly whined but started going through the pile more properly. “It’s not like anyone is going to see if you’re wearing a mismatched pair.”

“That’s rich coming from you, mister too-good-for-department-store-clothes.”

“You’re mixing not being able to afford style and not caring about insignificant things,” Ugetsu said while scrunching up a pair of white nylon socks with blue sheep on them.

What is it with the sheep, Akihiko thought to himself.

“But I guess, all things considering…,” Ugetsu went on, casting Akihiko a knowing, lingering glance from head to toe, “that’s an understandable mistake.”

Not rising for the bait, Akihiko folded a T-shirt and stacked it neatly on one of the chairs.

“I guess your fat ass will remain stuck, then. Have fun.”

“Sure,” Ugetsu replied, matching his playfully confident tone, “have fun paying the rent.”

“Have fun starving.”

“Have fun jerking off alone.”

“Have fun never clearing the Blue Rocket level.”

“Have fun…,” Ugetsu trailed off as his eyes kept searching the shrinking pile in his lap, “…finding the match for this one. Do you see it anywhere?”

In Ugetsu’s hand dangled a lonely orange sock. A glimpse of the matching bright color caught Akihiko’s eye peeking from under Ugetsu’s butt. Calmly, he a folded pair of ripped jeans aside and towered over Ugetsu, leaning his hands on the metallic rails either side of him. Ugetsu cocked his head back as Akihiko drew closer and closer until his lips ghosted at a kissing distance.

“For such a loud-mouth,” he said and gently bumped their noses together, “you sure are helpless.”

Ugetsu’s eyes softened as he gave a small smile.

“You like my loud mouth, though.”

With a bit of a reach, a pair of thin lips met Akihiko’s for a kiss. It was chaste but lingering. A little chapped but soft.

“Aki,” Ugetsu said quietly, his breath puffing between them.

“Hmm?”

“Let’s skip school tomorrow.”

“You’re a bad influence.”

“I want to sleep in and then go get Family Mart chicken for breakfast.”

“You should eat a proper meal.”

Ugetsu’s coat rustled when his hands reached to wrap around Akihiko’s neck like a child clinging to his mother. He caught a whiff of Ugetsu’s scent as he was awkwardly pulled closer.

“Hey Aki,” Ugetsu mumbled tiredly against his shoulder.

“What is it?”

“Let’s go home.”

A small tired smile tugged at the corners of Akihiko’s mouth.

“Yeah.”

By the time they were walking back home through the slowly awakening neighborhood, the snowfall had ceased. Everything was covered in untouched pure white.

The laundry bag dug into Akihiko’s shoulder. Hidden between them, Ugetsu’s cool hand was engulfed in his. Every once in a while, a yawn broke the comfortable silence. A bit hazily, Akihiko let his gaze rest upon the banks of snow.

Soon this magic-like atmosphere would be no longer. It was going to be disturbed by people stomping it dirty – much like their own winter boots were marking their nightly adventure. The magic of the small hours will be made mundane when it became evident that the globe had once again successfully rotated around its axel.

But for now, it was theirs and theirs alone. And they would probably have a lot more of these midnight adventures just like this one to come. After all, the cockwonbling laundry was one of life’s absolutes.

**The End.**

**Author's Note:**

> Behind the keyboard: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/VenniTalvi) | [Tumblr](https://notthatiwilleverwriteit.tumblr.com/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/venni.talvi.31)


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